Essentia Health workers' strike enters 2nd month

Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa will reconvene negotiations Jan. 22-23 as employees continue an open-ended strike that began Dec. 9.

The union represents 70 staff members at Essentia Health-Deer River (Minn.) and the nearby Essentia Health-Homestead nursing home in skilled maintenance, technical and service roles.

A mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services will participate in the upcoming negotiations, according to a Jan. 14 joint statement from the union and health system shared with Becker's.

"We remain committed to achieving a contract with the Service Employees International Union that recognizes the important contributions of these valued colleagues while also ensuring continued access to high-quality health care for our patients in Deer River and the surrounding communities," an Essentia spokesperson said in a Jan. 10 statement shared with Becker's.

Essentia said its offers have been market-competitive.

"We cook, clean, do laundry, prepare surgeries, provide emergency ER care, do X-rays, MRIs and so much more," Janelle Denny, a sterile processing worker, said in a union news release shared with Becker's when the strike began. "We need fair wages to keep people longer than a couple years. If we have to be away from our families longer than our scheduled shifts, we should get bonuses."

Copyright © 2025 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.


You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information, please review our Privacy Policy
.
 

Articles We Think You'll Like